ANDY PALMER

Executive vice president for global product planning, Nissan Motor Co.

Chosen because: Palmer, 47, heads Nissan's Zero Emission Business unit, an enterprise that reaches far beyond the automaker's electric Leaf. Palmer must help develop a supply chain, pitch foreign countries on incentivizing EV sales, spur cities to install charging stations, launch a venture to commercialize used batteries, broaden Nissan's product portfolio and expand manufacturing to sites in North America and Europe.

Quote: "Government fleets create momentum, but they're not the be all and end all," Palmer told Bloomberg in April. "The more vehicles you get out into customer hands, the more people start to understand that an electric car is not the same as a golf cart."